Karabiners

ABSTRACT

A karabiner comprises a generally C-shaped body, with its free ends curved towards each other and forming a gap therebetween, and a gate for closing the gap, the gate being formed of a wire member shaped and located on one free end of the body, such that it is constrained to close the gap and the other end of the gate having a slot for receiving a shaped end of the gate.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/922,496 filed Aug. 3, 2001, which claims priority benefits of UnitedKingdom Application No. 0019136 filed Aug. 4, 2000, which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention concerns snap hooks, also known as karabiners, for use inclimbing and other activities requiring connections to be made to ropes,cables and carrying loops for equipment.

2. Description of the Related Art

Karabiners generally comprise a C-shaped body with its ends curvedtowards each other and forming a gap closed by a spring loaded gatepivotally mounted on one body end and urged into engagement with theother body end. A thimble or other locking member may be provided eitheron the gate or the free body end and which is movable, say slidably oralong screw threading, to lock the gate in a closed position.

When unlocked, the gate of a karabiner is urged closed and a rope orloop can be snapped into the karabiner by pushing it against the gate toopen it. Once the rope or loop is in the confines of the C-shaped body,the gate can spring back to its closed position, where it can be locked,if desired.

There are a number of problems associated with currently availablekarabiners, such as, the number of components required, particularly inproviding a spring-loaded gate and in the gate or body having a hookedend on which ropes or other items can snag.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of this invention is to provide an improved karabiner.

According to a first aspect of this invention, there is provided akarabiner comprising a generally C-shaped body, with its free endscurved towards each other and forming a gap therebetween, and a gate forclosing the gap, the gate being formed of a wire member shaped andlocated on one free end of the body, such that it is constrained toclose the gap and the other end of the gate having a slot for receivinga shaped end of the gate.

The gate is preferably formed by a wire that is bent double and has itseach free ends further bent inwards towards each other to locate in adifferent hole on opposite sides of the free end of the body, one holebeing above the other. From its locations in the free end of the body,the two strands of the wire are bent towards each other to approximatelya mid-point of the gate until they overlap in a plane of the body.

At its free end the gate may be shaped by folding or bending of the wireto form a shaped end. For example, the end of the gate may be bent oversideways or the loop at the end of the gate enlarged. An alternative maybe to use the loop formed where the wire is bent double to capture ashaped nut that can locate in the slot of the free end of the body. Yetagain, the nut may be shaped to be slid onto the gate.

The slot preferably has from the free end of the body a first narrowpart to accommodate the wire gate leading to a wide part to accommodatethe shaped end of the gate. Between the wide and narrow parts of theslot a ledge may be provided. The ledge is preferably in a planesubstantially normal to a longitudinal axis of the gate. Thus, whenforces are applied to opposite ends of the karabiner, the ends of thebody will tend to bend inwards even only to a slight extent which willcause the ledge to be angled upwardly relative to the gate and thus helpto retain the shaped end of the gate in the slot of the free end of thebody.

The gate or the free end of the body may carry additional locking meansfor when the gate is closed. In one preferred embodiment a thimble maybe provided on the gate that can be moved up the gate to overlap atleast partially the free end of the body. Conveniently an outwardlyscrew threaded sleeve may be provided on the gate and an internallyscrew threaded thimble be provided on the sleeve.

In another preferred embodiment a locking ring may be mounted rotatablyon the free end of the body, the ring having a slot therein, whereby inone position the gate can pass through the slot of the ring for itsshaped end to locate in the slot of the free end of the body and then byrotating the ring, the slot therein is no longer accessible to the gate.

In yet another preferred embodiment, the gate may be provided with aslidable locking member that, for example, can be slid upwards when thegate is closed, the locking member having a finger or the like thatextends over the opposite side of the body to that of the slot openingto prevent the gate being pushed open.

Another preferred embodiment provides a locking pin that can be insertedthrough the free end of the body of the karabiner and into or throughthe end of the gate to prevent it being pushed open. The locking pin canbe on a flexible or spring-biased tab attached to the gate.Alternatively, the pin can be rotatably mounted in the slot of the freeend of the body between a first position wherein a lip on the end of thepin can pass through a loop of the wire gate and a second positionwherein the lip retains the loop of the gate in the slot. The slot ofthe free end of the body preferably faces inwards, i.e., towards thebody of the karabiner. In some embodiments, however, the slot may be onthe side of the free end of the body. In yet other embodiments the slotmay be shaped with a part that interengages with the wire gate,especially through a loop thereof.

According to a second aspect of this invention there is provided akarabiner comprising a generally C-shaped body with its free ends curvedtowards each other and forming a gap therebetween and a spring-biasedgate for closing the gap located on one free end of the body and theother free end having a wire cage thereon for receiving the gate.

The gate of the second aspect of the invention may be a conventionalkarabiner gate, such as of metal bar of the like.

According to a third aspect of this invention there is provided akarabiner comprising a generally C-shaped body with its free ends curvedtowards each other and forming a gap therebetween and a spring-biasedgate for closing the gap located on one free end of the body and meansfor locking the gate in a closed position.

In the third aspect of the invention, the gate may be a conventionalkarabiner gate, such as of metal bar or the like. The locking means maybe a slidable locking member that, for example, can be slid upwards onthe gate and that has a finger or the like to extend over the oppositeside of the body to that of the direction of opening of the gate.Alternatively a locking pin is provided on a flexible or spring-biasedtab attached to the gate, which pin can be inserted through a hole inthe free end of the karabiner body and into a hole or slot of the gatewhen closed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

This invention will now be further described, by way of example only,with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a karabiner of the invention in the closedposition;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the karabiner of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the karabiner of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section on line AA of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view from one side and the front of thekarabiner of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view from the rear and opposite sides of thekarabiner of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 7 to 12 are corresponding views to those of FIGS. 1 to 6respectively but with the karabiner open and the section line of FIG. 9marked as BB;

FIGS. 13 and 14 are perspective and front views of the gate receivingfree end of the karabiner of FIGS. 1 to 12;

FIGS. 15 and 16 are corresponding views to those of FIGS. 13 and 14respectively with the karabiner gate closed;

FIG. 17 is a section on line CC of FIG. 16; and

FIGS. 18 to 30 show variations on the karabiner of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 17 of the accompanying drawings, a karabiner 10comprises a generally C-shaped body 12 having its free ends 14, 16generally facing each other but leaving a gap 18 therebetween. Pivotallymounted on one free end 14 of the body is a gate 20. The body 12 of thekarabiner where it curves top and bottom is shaped to provide locationsfor ropes or the like. At its top as shown there is a slight recess 21and at the bottom the body is curved upwards at a more acute angle thanat the top to provide a relatively confined location for a rope or thelike.

The gate 20 is formed of wire basically bent double. The wire is bentdouble to form two strands 22, 24 with a loop 26 between them. The twostrands 22, 24 overlie each other for a first part from the loop, sothat in the karabiner they are in the plane of the body. From the end ofthe first part, the two strands diverge to opposite sides of the bodybefore bending inwards to form ends 28, 30 that each locate in separateholes 32, 34 one above the other in the free end 14 of the karabinerbody. The shaping of the gate and the offsetting of its pivot pointsurge the gate to a closed position as shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 of thedrawings. Once pressure is applied to the gate inwardly, it will openbut always spring back to a closed position when the pressure isremoved. Thus, a rope or the like can be pushed into the karabinerthrough the gate which then snaps back to close the karabiner and retainthe rope or the like therein.

The free end of the gate has located in the loop 26 a nut 36 and thefree end 16 of the karabiner body has a shaped slot 38, which receivesthe nut 36 when the gate is closed. The slot 38 is shown in more detailin FIGS. 13 to 17. The slot 38 has a first narrow part 40 open to theend of the free end 16 of the body and leading to a wide part 42 formingledges 44 on opposite sides of the slot. The ledges are generally normalto a longitudinal axis of the gate in its closed position. The narrowpart 40 accommodates the overlying strands of the gate and the wide partof the nut 36.

When loads are applied to opposite ends of the karabiner body, theeffect is to elongate the body and draw the free ends 14, 16 inward.That has the effect of changing the angle of the ledges 44 with respectto the longitudinal axis of the gate to the extent that the ledges slopupwardly in the direction of the opening of the gate, rendering it moredifficult for the gate to be opened inadvertently in a load situation.This is an important safety feature of the illustrated karabiner.

Furthermore, as can be seen, the free end 16 of the karabiner has agenerally smooth profile, which advantageously can avoid the risk ofsnagging of ropes, etc. thereon.

FIGS. 18 to 30 show variations on the basic karabiner of FIGS. 1 to 17and only the differences will be described in detail below. Like partshave been given the same reference numbers throughout for easyunderstanding.

In FIG. 18, instead of a generally circular nut, nut 60 at the end ofthe gate 20 is generally semi-circular in side view. In FIG. 19, thekarabiner has a rectangular nut 64 at the end of the gate 20.

FIG. 20 shows a karabiner with a different means of forming the slot forreceiving the free end of the gate 20. The slot is provided by a wirecage 66 fixed to the free end of the body 12. The cage is formed of awire bent to form two opposed U-shaped sides 68. The sides convergeoutwardly of the karabiner, so that nut 36 can snap into the cage butnot pass through it. The nut can have annular grooves 70 on either sideof the gate to locate on the wire of the cage.

In FIG. 21 of the drawings, the end 74 of the gate 20 is folded oversideways instead of using a nut, and the slot 38 in the free end of thebody is shaped to correspond to the shape of the end of the gate.

FIG. 22 of the drawings shows a karabiner with slot 80 for the gateaccessible from the side of the free end of the body. The gate has aslightly larger loop 82 at its free end that fits over peg 84 and intogroove 86 in the top surface of the spigot. To open the gate, it has tobe pulled sideways initially.

FIG. 23 of the drawings is included to show a karabiner with a safetylock in the form of rotatable thimble 90 on the free end of the body.The thimble 90 has a slot 92 therein that when aligned inwardly with thegate allows the gate to be opened and to close but when rotated out ofthat alignment locks the gate closed.

In FIG. 24 the gate of the karabiner has a nut 100 that is slid onto thegate. FIG. 25 shows how the nut 36 used in the karabiner of FIG. 1 maybe formed in two parts, one male 102 and the other female 104.

Turning to FIG. 26 of the drawings, a karabiner of the type of FIG. 1has a sliding locking member 110 on the gate, so that when the gate isclosed, the locking member 110 can be slid up towards the free end 16 ofthe body. The locking member has a finger 112 that then overlies thebody on the opposite side to the slot, so that the gate cannot be openedinadvertently.

FIG. 27 of the drawings shows how the slot 38 may be shaped tocorrespond to the shape of the gate end. In this case, the gate end isin the form of a transverse loop 120 and the slot has a peg 122 therein,over which the loop locates.

In FIG. 28, the slot 38 at the free end of the body of the karabiner hasa rotatable locking pin 130 through the end of the body. The gate has aloop 132 at its free end that locates over the pin. The pin has a lip134, so that with the lip downwards as illustrated, the loop 132 canlocate on the pin but when the pin is rotated through 180°, the lip 134prevents the loop 132 from being freed.

FIG. 29 shows a locking thimble 150 provided on the gate. There is anoutwardly screw-threaded sleeve 152 on the gate and the thimble iscorrespondingly threaded, so as to move upwards or downwards whenrotated. When the thimble is moved upwards, it partly overlies the freeend of the body, so that the gate cannot be opened.

Finally, in FIG. 30 of the drawings, a karabiner has a gate 20 with aloop 160 at its free end and there is a hole 162 through the free end 16of the body in the region of the gate receiving slot 38, so that whenthe gate is closed the loop 160 and hole 162 coincide. A strap 164attached to the gate has a pin 166 that can be pushed or sprung into thehole 162 and through the loop 160 to lock the gate closed.

It will be appreciated that whilst the above illustrated embodimentsutilize bent wire gates, it is possible to substitute such gates withconventional spring load gates, such as those constructed from metalbars or other suitable materials. The use of conventional gates isbelieved to be particularly applicable to the embodiment of FIG. 20 butmay also be applicable, for example, to the embodiments of FIGS. 26, 27,28 and 30 of the accompanying drawings.

1. A karabiner comprising a generally C-shaped body having free ends curved towards each other and forming a gap therebetween, and a gate for closing the gap, the gate being formed of a wire member shaped and located on one free end of the body, such that the gate is constrained to close the gap and another free end of the body having a slot for receiving a shaped end of the gate, wherein the gate is formed by the wire member that is bent double defining two strands and has each free end further bent inwards towards the other to locate in a different hole on opposite sides of the one free end of the body, one hole being above the other, and wherein from the one free end of the body, the two strands of the wire member are bent towards each other to approximately a mid-point of the gate until they overlap in a plane of the body.
 2. The karabiner as claimed in claim 1, wherein at a free end the gate is shaped by bending of the wire member to form the shaped end.
 3. The karabiner as claimed in claim 2, wherein the free end of the gate is bent over sideways.
 4. The karabiner as claimed in claim 2, wherein a loop at the free end of the gate is enlarged.
 5. A karabiner comprising a generally C-shaped body having free ends curved towards each other and forming a gap therebetween, and a gate for closing the gap, the gate being formed of a wire member shaped and located on one free end of the body, such that the gate is constrained to close the gap and another free end of the body having a slot for receiving a shaped end of the gate, wherein the gate is formed by the wire member that is bent double and has each free end further bent inwards towards the other to locate in a different hole on opposite sides of the one free end of the body, one hole being above the other, and wherein a loop formed where the wire member is bent double has a shaped nut that can locate in the slot of the other free end of the body.
 6. The karabiner as claimed in claim 1, wherein a shaped nut is slid onto the gate.
 7. A karabiner comprising a generally C-shaped body having free ends curved towards each other and forming a gap therebetween, and a gate for closing the gap, the gate being formed of a wire member shaped and located on one free end of the body, such that the gate is constrained to close the gap and another free end of the body having a slot for receiving a shaped end of the gate, wherein the slot has from the other end of the body a first narrow part to accommodate the wire member leading to a wider second part to accommodate the shaped end of the gate.
 8. The karabiner as claimed in claim 7, wherein a ledge is provided between the wide and narrow parts of the slot.
 9. A karabiner comprising a generally C-shaped body having free ends curved towards each other and forming a gap therebetween, and a gate for closing the gap, the gate being formed of a wire member shaped and located on one free end of the body, such that the gate is constrained to close the gap and another free end of the body having a slot for receiving a shaped end of the gate, wherein the slot has from the other end of the body a first narrow part to accommodate the wire member leading to a wider second part to accommodate the shaped end of the gate, a ledge is provided between the wide and narrow parts of the slot, and the ledge is in a plane substantially normal to a longitudinal axis of the gate.
 10. The karabiner as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the gate and the other end of the body carry additional locking means for when the gate is closed.
 11. The karabiner as claimed in claim 10, wherein a thimble is provided on the gate, the thimble can be moved up the gate to overlap at least partially the other end of the body.
 12. The karabiner as claimed in claim 11, wherein an outwardly screw threaded sleeve is provided on the gate and an internally screw threaded thimble is provided on the sleeve.
 13. The karabiner as claimed in claim 10, wherein the gate is provided with a slidable locking member.
 14. The karabiner as claimed in claim 10, having a locking pin that is insertable through the other free end of the body of the karabiner and into or through the end of the gate to prevent it being pushed open.
 15. The karabiner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the slot of the other free end of the body faces inwards towards the body of the karabiner.
 16. The karabiner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the slot is on the side of the other free end of the body.
 17. The karabiner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the slot is shaped with a part that interengages with a loop of the wire gate.
 18. A karabiner comprising a generally C-shaped body having free ends curved towards each other and forming a gap therebetween and a spring-biased gate for closing the gap located on one free end of the body and the other free end having a wire cage thereon for receiving the gate, wherein the gate is formed by a wire that is bent double and from the one free end of the body, two strands of the wire are bent towards each other to approximately a mid-point of the gate until they overlap in a plane of the body.
 19. A karabiner comprising a generally C-shaped body having free ends curved towards each other and forming a gap therebetween and a spring-biased gate for closing the gap located on one free end of the body and means for locking the gate in a closed position, wherein the gate is formed by a wire that is bent double and from the one free end of the body, two strands of the wire are bent towards each other to approximately a mid-point of the gate until they overlap in a plane of the body.
 20. The karabiner claimed in claim 19, wherein the locking means is a slidable locking member.
 21. The karabiner as claimed in claim 20, wherein the locking member is slidable upwards on the gate and has a finger to extend over an opposite side of the body to that of the direction of opening of the gate.
 22. The karabiner as claimed in claim 19, wherein a locking is provided on a flexible or spring-biased tab attached to the gate, which pin can be inserted through a hole in another end of the karabiner body and into a slot of the gate when closed. 